Arkadi Kuhlmann, the founding CEO of United States' division of ING Direct, spent the day speaking with reporters prior to his book signing engagement tonight at Elliot Bay Books in Seattle.

Kuhlman's book, The Orange Code: How ING Direct Succeeded by Being a Rebel with a Cause, chronicles the successes of a relatively new banking model that is becoming increasingly popular in Washington.

"When we started ING Direct in 2000, the idea was, 'let's build a retail bank, but let's build it like a retailer would, not a bank,'" Kuhlmann said.

With a simple, high-yield savings account and a straightforward mortgage program, ING Direct sought to make saving money 'cool,'" Kuhlmann said. The high-volume, low-margin, no-fee approach has allowed ING to thrive in a time of bank failures.

"It's more product-focused," Kuhlmann said. "Every bank is trying to work with people at the high end of the market. The trick is getting value products down to people with modest means of income. Many companies – Southwest Airlines, IKEA, Costco, Walmart, Dell – have found a way to do it. The real question in, why aren't we doing that in banking?"

Kuhlmann said ING avoided the foreclosure crisis because it didn't sell anyone a mortgage that wasn't appropriate and, unlike many banks, they kept every mortgage they sold. He said that although many Americans feel cash-poor, there are ways to save that can help people feel like they're being smart with their money.

"It's about people making choices and living beyond their means," Kuhlmann said. "Everybody, no matter who it is, can save some money."

Kuhlmann said he hopes that the financial crisis will resonate with the American people.

"I think, hopefully, much like energy and oil and everything else, we hope that people will take a pretty strong look," Kuhlmann said. "Just because oil is down doesn't mean we stop looking for green energy solutions. I hope that this crisis on the financial side will get people to stop and think about not going back to the old ways."